Around Town
SJI Marathon unveiled in national spotlight PAGE 11
Island Scene
Editorial
Hot fun in the summer time; dance and song
What does Dad want for Father’s Day? If it’s pants, just make sure they fit
PAGE 9
PAGE 7
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, June 11, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 24
of the San Juan Islands
www.sanjuanjournal.com
New public safety boat ready for duty ‘Sentinel’ built with $600k federal grant By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Journal photo / Kathryn Sherman
From left; Friday Harbor High School graduates Alaina Scheffer, Tabatha Keane and Ellie Woodward take measured strides on the long march to the podium at the Class of 2014 commencement ceremony, Saturday, in Turnbull Gym.
Toast to support, ‘magic’ FHHS Class of 2014 bolstered by $300K in local scholarships By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
If you thought that graduation was all about the graduates, think again. For the Friday Harbor High School Class of 2014, it’s about you. From the opening “Welcome” address by Associated Student Body President Erin McCauley, to concluding speeches by class co-valedictorians Emily Guard and Libby Snow, representatives of the Friday Harbor High School Class of 2014 made it clear that high school graduation is a collective cause, and that Saturday’s
commencement ceremony was as much about family, friends, supporters, mentors, employers and well-wishers, as it was about those donned in that night in the capand-gown. “When I ran for student body president I knew I have to give a speech and I knew what I wanted to say,” McCauley said. “But when it came time to write it got difficult. And all I really want to say is ‘Thank You.’ We couldn’t have gotten here without you.” Conjuring up the ceremony’s Harry Potter trappings and with a nod to the series about “The Boy Who Lived,” (the class motto is a line out of “Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire”), Snow noted that the graduates got to where they are now in large part thanks to, “… the help of our friends and a little magic.” And as in year’s past, the Friday Harbor community celebrated the
achievements, accomplishments and next-steps of the 60 graduating seniors with a resounding send-off. Upwards of two dozen civic groups, organizations and individuals together presented more than $300,000 in scholarships and financial awards to the graduates, the majority of whom will pursue higher-education at an in-state college, university or technical school. And, as class salutatorian Kate Fenley points out, it’s the spirit of a tight-knit, supportive community that the graduates will carry out into the larger world, and, regardless of where each may end up--big town or small--that will be the foundation and promise that will “benefit us in our lives.” The graduation season continues in Friday Harbor Saturday, June 14, with commenceSee MAGIC, Page 4
Bigger. Faster. Built to endure. And with a lot more firepower-as in a pump that can shoot out 1,500 gallons of water per-minute, three times the amount that’s now available to fight a fire at the water’s edge. The San Juan County Sheriff ’s Department took possession of its new public safety boat, “Sentinel,” Monday morning at the Port of Friday Harbor. Funded by a $600,000-plus federal grant and built by Burlington-based Munson Boats, the Sentinel and its arrival in Friday Harbor signals an end to a two-year bureaucratic odyssey for the Sheriff ’s Department and the beginning of a new era of public safety out on the water. “I am elated to see this come to fruition,” Sheriff Rob Nou said. The sheriff ’s department will maintain and operate the Sentinel National Monument Est. 2 013 in partnership with the San Juan Island fire department and Shaw Island fire department. Previously, officials of the fire districts on Lopez and Orcas islands, and San Juan Emergency Medical Services, opted out of joining what initially had been conceived as a maintenance and operation agreement between all the county’s public safety agencies. Nou earlier estimated that maintenance of the county fleet will be about $100,000 per year although some of that cost will be allocated to the San Juan Island and Shaw Island fire departments and to operations grants from a number of agencies, including the Washington Department
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
of Licensing, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Homeland Security. In addition to greater waterpump capacity, the Sentinel is equipped with twin Volvo diesel engines, is 38-by-12 feet in size, has a 7-foot wide “bow ramp” and can reach 40 mph at top speed, Nou said. San Juan Island Fire Department Chief Steve Marler anticipates that it will take 3-4 months of training before department firefighters are ready to use the Sentinel in responding to a fire. The Sentinel is expected to replace San Juan Island Fire Department’s fireboat Confidence, however, and the Sheriff ’s departSee DUTY, Page 4
2013 GUID
E TO OUTD OOR ADVE IN THE SA NTURE N JUAN ISL ANDS
Sales deadline
2014 Parks & Trails guide publishes the week of July 1st in the Journal, Sounder & Weekly. Sales Deadline: Tuesday, June 17, 2014. For more information call the Journal 378-5696.